Rough Start to Year

The main issue is the offense.  We made Boyd look like Sandy Koufax and the pitches he threw were not that great.  We struck out 18 times while only walking 4 times.  There were plenty of pitches to hit and we didn't take advantage of them.

I didn't think the umpire gave us a fair strike zone as strikes were called against us that were not called for us and this was most evident after an initial pitch was called a ball for Green and then his next pitch was deposited for a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning that held up.  That being said, we just didn't swing the bats well.  4 singles and 1 double isn't going to get it done.

Loaisiga did a decent job; he has really good stuff but has control issues.  That being said, he has a good arm.  His change could be a little better and slower as it is around 88 which is a little fast IMO.  His fastball is consistently at 95; so 7 MPH isn't terrible, but he would benefit from 8 or 9 MPH differential so he gets a little more sink at the end.  This brings me to something Michael Kay said, that really shows how little he knows.  He must have been reading something and he said that Boyd had the best mark in baseball as his changeup averaged 11.9 difference from his fastball.  Best? LOL, so if the difference was 14 MPH that would be better?  Nope, in fact, 11+ MPH is probably too much as it gives the batter a chance to reload.  The concept of a change is to keep the batter off balance and be out in front of the pitch and either pull it foul, get it off the end of the bat or swing too early.  It also is designed to change speeds and make the fastball look better.  This is why I don't listen too often as I fast forward in between pitches.  I do like Cone though!  I will say that Oneill had the best analysis he has given on hitting as he discussed guys opening up their hips for the inside pitch and then showed the plusses and minus' in doing so.  Normally, he is pretty generic and I think wrong in his comments and Cone usually shows "the other side."  Regardless, have to give Oneill credit and maybe he is coming around?

Back to the game - Judge made another excellent catch going back to the wall immediately and reaching his long arms up and making a catch on a bullet to the wall that I am not sure any other player could have made as his size made the difference.  Judge did give back as Torres smoked a ball to SS and Judge didn't get out of the way and got hit with the ball ending the inning.  Most likely, that would have been a single and Judge would have scored, even if he had to hold up as the ball might have split the OF's.  That should really not happen and in a 2-1 game could have been the difference.

Sanchez had another throwing error and this was his fault.  He made a nice backhanded scoop but should have eaten the ball instead of throwing down.  Many times you don't get a good grip on a pitch or get it out of the glove well, but you adjust your throw based on the placement of the ball on your fingers or even palm and Sanchez didn't and threw it low and toward 1st base again.  I think that is 4 throwing errors already.

In the 8th inning, Voit led off with a walk and I think Gardner should have been used to pinch run right away.  After 2 outs, Boone put Gardner in and then Gardner ended up being thrown out on a great throw.  My issue is that Gardner is not a guy who just goes in and steals right away.  He takes time to read the pitcher, plus if you were going to do it, why not give him the chance to score on a double with more hitters?  The odds of getting a double with 3 batters is greater than one batter or even a single where you go to 3rd are greater.?  It was as if they didn't think about it until 2 outs happened; that was a mistake.  I am not sure if Boone was asked about that, but if anyone knows, please send me an email or add it to the comments.

With Tulo out we have now lost 5 position players; that is crazy.  The only positive is that we should get most everyone back.

Boston won.